Our morning in Maun involved some friendly haggling for last minute souvenirs. Each stall was owned by the wife or the friend of the next, so you gradually built up a picture of a social dynamic of sellers who displayed baskets, wooden bowls, tablecloths and beaded animals.

As we headed south for our final night of camping we drove 500km with a total of 2 turns, barely any cars, and an endless landscape of flat.

It was sandy! 

The roadsides were full with grazing cattle and goats, the occasional donkey. Shepherds stayed with their flocks, who occasionally neared the road, or were encouraged to cross. We slowed to a halt for a wave. 

Khama Rhino Sanctuary was our final night. A 900ha park where all of the wild Rhinos have been moved since the 90’s for protection from poaching. Botswana doesn’t have an army, instead a defence force who heavily protect the wildlife. There are about 30 white rhinos and a handful of black rhinos who live here, alongside Zebra, Giraffe, Springbok, Ostrich and Leopard. 

Our final nights camp was below the Marula trees. We were joined by Auntie Fi, Chris and Henry and it was lovely to be reunited. We cooked over the fire and experienced a cooler night in the centre of Botswana. 

The next morning we enjoyed a leisurely brunch, and a less leisurely washing up session as we scrubbed every dish from the truck, including the hyena licked pans. 

We did our final game drive around the reserve which brought still many firsts. We spotted majestic ostrich, witnessed the spring of the Springbok and spotted an elusive Gemsbok.

We prepped to say goodbye to Neil and Sara as they headed on to Johannesburg, and us to the farm for our final nights. Just as we were about to head off, a flight from our airline threw everything into chaos.  A 12 hour delay in Rwanda meant we second guessed our journey home and frantically searched for an alternative. An hour later we were booked on an earlier flight and we would be heading to Johannesburg instead of the farm.  The abrupt goodbyes felt like a sad way to end the trip! 

We crossed the border at Martin’s Drift and stayed the other side of the Limpopo river in a cottage which overlooked the water. Vervet monkeys and crocodiles accompanied us as we watched the final sunset of our African adventure. 

The next day as we handed back our vehicles, we said goodbye to our tent on wheels, our sturdy elephant encounterers after 5,400km together!